In Ireland, the majority of drinking water (81.9%) originates from surface water (i.e. rivers and lakes) with the remainder originating from groundwater (10.3%) and springs (7.8%). This is particularly so for public water supplies whereas group water schemes and small private supplies tend to be slightly more reliant on groundwater or spring water.
All drinking water must comply with the The European Communities (Drinking Water) (No. 2) Regulations, 2007 which set standards for 48 individual microbiological, chemical and indicator parameters.
The 34 water services authorities (city and county councils) are responsible for the production, distribution and monitoring of drinking water from over 900 public water supplies, serving 84.8% of the population.
The rest is supplied by group water schemes (7.8%), small private supplies (0.7%) and single house private wells (6.7%). Responsibility for the water quality rests with the manager/operator of the supply.
The water services authorities carry out regular monitoring of public water supplies and group water schemes, and send these results to the Environmental Protection Agency each year for our Annual Report on Drinking Water Quality.
New drinking water regulations came into force during 2007 titled the European Communities (Drinking Water) (No.2) Regulations 2007. Under these regulations the EPA is the supervisory authority for public water supplies. These regulations provide the EPA with powers of direction to direct a local authority to improve the management or quality of a public water supply. The local authorities have a similar supervisory role in relation to group water schemes and private supplies. Under the regulations the local authority must notify the EPA of drinking water non-compliances or risk to public health from a public water supply. The EPA has published several guidance booklets for local authorities on the requirements of the Regulations. The guidance has been issued in accordance with the powers assigned to the EPA under the new legislation. View details of the guidance booklets.
The EPA carries out audits of the Water Services Authorities (WSA) in respect of their role int he production of drinking water. These audits are an important way of checking how the WSA is performing and ensuring that the Drinking Water Regulations are being complied with. The EPA's audits examine a number of areas which may include the water source, the water treatment works, management of the distribution system, sampling and analytical methods used and consumer contacts about water quality. When selecting supplies to audit, the EPA adopts a risk-based approach to ensure that the supplies in most need of attention have a greater degree of inspection and enforcement.
The EPA prepares a report following the audit which summarises the main findings on the day of the audit. Where the EPA finds any deficiencies, recommendations will be made in the audit report as to the actions the WSA needs to take to put things right. Most recommendations are quite technical in nature and do not necessarily mean there is an immediate threat to drinking water quality. The WSA is required to reply within the timeframe specified in the audit report setting out what it has done or proposes to do, to satisfy those recommended actions. The EPA tracks the WSA's progress in carrying out these actions.
The EPA's audits may be accessed via the link below. Further details and follow-up measures regarding your public water supply can be obtained from your local Water Services Authority.
View EPA Drinking Water Reports
The EPA has developed an online system to facilitate the notification of exceedances of the parametric values set by the 2007 Drinking Water Regulations to the Agency by Local Authorities
This system is accessible at: Online DW Notification System
This site is only accessible by means of a Username and Password unique to each local authority. The username and password were supplied by the EPA in a letter and by e-mail to each local authority on July 29th 2011. This correspondence should be retained for future use. A user manual has been prepared for reference by local authorities.
View details of the user manual
Training videos on the use of the system are accessible at: ODWNS Training Videos
Any queries relating to the use of the Online Drinking Water Notification System should be directed to drinkingwater@epa.ie
The Provision and Quality of Drinking Water in Ireland - A Report for the Year 2010
Drinking Water Report 2010, Remedial Action List
Find out general information on drinking water on the Citizens Information website
